Our History

The University of Massachusetts Worcester (UMW) was founded by proclamation of the governor and an act of the legislature to meet the health care needs of the residents of the commonwealth. Its mission is to advance the health and well-being of the people of the commonwealth and the world through pioneering education, research and health care delivery with its partner, UMass Memorial Health Care. UMW is one of five campuses that make up the University of Massachusetts. Other campuses are located in Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth and Lowell.UMW comprises the School of Medicine, opened in 1970; the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, opened in 1979; and the Graduate School of Nursing, opened in 1986. UMW also offers dynamic graduate medical education and continuing medical education programs.

The UMW Learning Community is comprised of the Graduate School of Nursing along with the UMass Worcester School of Medicine, and UMass Worcester Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. The GSN has many interprofessional opportunities for collaborative graduate education, research and practice. The GSN is distinctive as the only publicly funded nursing school in the commonwealth with a sole focus on graduate nursing education. It is also one of only three nursing schools in New England based at an academic health sciences center, sharing campus resources and facilities with its clinical partner, UMass Memorial Medical Center, part of UMass Memorial Health Care.

The GSN’s educational approach promotes lifelong learning through partnerships and interprofessional collaboration in an academic health center environment. The new Albert Sherman Center on campus also enhances the learning environment with learning community space including state of the art simulation training and lab experiences. We currently have over 150 nursing full- and part-time (including clinical) faculty in the GSN, almost 200 students including 90 Graduate Entry Pathway students, 54 Master's students, 25 Doctor of Nursing Practice students, and 25 PhD in nursing students.

We are also located amongst an outstanding top rated University of Massachusetts Medical school community in the robust and vibrant city of Worcester, the heart of Central Massachusetts with easy access to Boston, Springfield, and the surrounding CT, ME, NH, RI, VT. New England states.